Broun wants to audit the Fed

1/4/13 3:35 PM EST

Ron Paul might not be in Congress anymore, but his determination to audit the Fed survives.

Rep. Paul Broun (R) filed legislation identical to a bill Paul had pushed to have a full audit of the Federal Reserve bank. Broun is a conservative Georgia lawmaker who this week voted for ex-Rep. Allen West as House speaker instead of John Boehner.

During the presidential campaign, the Fed audit became a banner issue for Paul, who argued that the Fed was responsible for manipulating currency and damaging the economy. Paul, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination was able to persuade Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to also support an audit.

Auditing the Fed became a rallying cry for Paul’s cadre of diehard supporters.

“Moving forward, my plan is to pick up right where Congressman Paul left off,” Broun said in a statement. “Our economy is far from recovering, and the recent fears regarding the potential impacts of the ‘fiscal cliff’ and its aftermath prove that the American people must continue to demand transparency from the entity charged with ensuring stable economic and monetary policy.”

Paul’s original bill managed to passed 327-98 through the House last year with overwhelming bipartisan support, even though the house Democratic leadership opposed the measure, saying that it could force the Fed to make decisions based more on politics than sound economic policy.

The Senate has thus far declined to take up the legislation.

“With nearly seventy-five percent of Americans supporting an audit of the Federal Reserve, it is way past time for Harry Reid to actually do his job, listen to the American people and allow a vote on Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed,” said John Tate, president of the Campaign for Liberty, which has been pushing the effort.